greenhouse

greenhouse — noun

1. a glass-walled shelter where plants are grown under carefully controlled warmth

1.nounB1
Definition

a glass-walled shelter where plants are grown under carefully controlled warmth and light, protected from cold outdoor conditions.

Example

Tariq built a small greenhouse in his backyard to grow tomatoes all year.

collocation: build a greenhouse

Bao adjusted the automatic vents inside the greenhouse when the temperature rose too high.

collocation: inside the greenhouse

Common collocations
  • build a greenhouse
  • work in a greenhouse
  • inside the greenhouse
  • heat the greenhouse
  • greenhouse plants
Synonyms
  • glasshouse

    British English; same meaning but less common in American English.

  • hothouse

    a greenhouse that is kept very warm for tropical plants; also used figuratively (e.g. hothouse environment).

Grammar Patterns

a greenhouse

the greenhouse

greenhouses (plural)

Usage Note

A greenhouse may also be called a glasshouse, especially in British English. The term 'hothouse' refers to a greenhouse that is heated to very warm temperatures for tropical plants.

Common Mistakes

The farmer stored his tools in the greenhouse.
The farmer stored his tools in the garden shed.
A greenhouse is specifically for growing plants, not for general storage.

greenhouse — adjective

Word family

  • greenhouse effect
    noun phraseB2
  • greenhouse gas
    noun phraseB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Greenhouse, glasshouse, hothouse, and conservatory all refer to glass buildings for plants, but they differ in usage. Greenhouse is the most common term worldwide for any glass building used to grow plants commercially or at home. Glasshouse is its British English equivalent, used especially in gardening and horticultural contexts in the UK. Hothouse specifically means a greenhouse that is heated to very warm temperatures, ideal for tropical plants — it also has a figurative sense (e.g. 'a hothouse of talent'). Conservatory is a room attached to a house, with glass walls and roof, used primarily as a living space rather than for serious plant cultivation. For example: 'She grows orchids in her greenhouse every winter.' 'The British estate had a large glasshouse for exotic fruit.' 'His parents relaxed in the conservatory with cups of tea.'

greenhouse ↗glasshousehothouseconservatory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • greenhouse owner
  • greenhouse worker
  • greenhouse temperature
  • greenhouse effect
  • greenhouse gas
  • greenhouse emissions
  • greenhouse gases

Prepositions

  • in a greenhouse
  • inside a greenhouse
  • outside the greenhouse

Etymology

Englishgreen + house

Greenhouse is formed by combining the words 'green' and 'house', first recorded in English around the 1660s. It originally referred to a house for keeping 'green' (evergreen or tender) plants alive through winter, especially citrus trees. The environmental sense emerged in the early 20th century: scientists noticed that certain gases trap heat in the atmosphere much like the glass roof of a greenhouse traps warmth inside, giving rise to the term 'greenhouse effect' (first used in the 1930s).